Chapter Four

Vapor Power Cycles

Engineering Thermodynamics II
[MEng 3131 ]
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 Content
Chapter 4 Vapor Power Cycles
4.1. The Carnot Cycle
4.2. The Rankine Cycle
4.3. Deviation of Actual Vapor Power Cycles from Idealized Ones
4.4. The Ideal Reheat Rankine Cycle
4.5. The Ideal Regenerative Rankine Cycle
4.6. Types of Feed-Water Heaters

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 The Carnot Cycle
We have mentioned repeatedly that the Carnot cycle is the most
efficient cycle operating between two specified temperature limits.
Consider a steady-flow Carnot cycle executed within the saturation dome of a pure
substance.

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 The Carnot Cycle
The fluid is
• heated reversibly and isothermally in a boiler
(process 1-2)
• expanded isentropically in a turbine (process 2-3)
• condensed reversibly and isothermally in a
condenser (process 3-4),
• compressed isentropically by a compressor to the
initial state (process 4-1).

TH − TL  TL 
carnot = = 1 − 
TH  TH 
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 The Carnot Cycle
➢ Several impracticalities are associated with this cycle:
▪ Limiting the heat transfer processes to two-phase systems, severely limits
the max temp that can be used in the cycle - max. temp. has to remain
under the critical-point value.
▪ The impingement of liquid droplets on the turbine blades causes erosion
and is a major source of wear.
✓This problem could be eliminated by using a working fluid with a very
steep saturated vapor line.
▪ It is not easy to control the condensation process so precisely as to end
up with desired quality at state 4 and it is not practical to design a
compressor that will handle two phases.
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 The Carnot Cycle
Some of these problems could be eliminated by executing the Carnot cycle in
a different way as shown in the second. This cycle however, presents other
problems such as isentropic compression to extremely high pressure and
isothermal heat transfer at variable pressures.
Conclusion: Carnot cycle cannot be approximated in actual devices and is not
a realistic model for vapor power cycles.

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 The Rankine Cycle

▪ Many of the impracticalities associated with the Carnot

cycle can be eliminated by superheating the steam in the
boiler and condensing it completely in the condenser as
shown.
▪ The cycle that results is the Rankine cycle, which is the
ideal cycle for vapor power plants.

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 The Rankine Cycle
1-2 Isentropic compression in a pump
2-3 Constant pressure heat addition in a boiler
3-4 Isentropic expansion in a turbine
4-1 Constant pressure heat rejection in a condenser

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 Energy Analysis of the Rankine Cycle
▪ Rankine cycle can be analyzed as steady-flow processes.
▪ Neglecting changes in kinetic and potential energies.
▪ The steady-flow energy equation per unit mass of steam

(qin − qout ) + ( win − wout ) = he − hi

▪ The boiler and the condenser do not involve any work,
▪ the pump and the turbine are assumed to be isentropic.
▪ the conservation of energy relation for each device can be expressed as
follows: Pump(q = 0) : w = h −h
pump ,in 2 1

w pump ,in = v( P2 − P1 )
where h1  h f @ P1 and v  v1 = v f @ P1
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Energy Analysis of the Rankine Cycle

Boiler ( w = 0) : qin = h3 − h2
Turbine(q = 0) : wturb ,out = h3 − h4
Condenser ( w = 0) : qout = h4 − h1

The thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycle is

wnet qout
th = = 1−
qin qin
where wnet = qin − qout = wturb ,out − wpump ,in

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 Deviation of Actual Vapor Power Cycles from
Idealized Ones
▪ The actual vapor power
cycle differs from ideal
Rankine cycle, as illustrated
in the figure, as a result of
irreversibilities in various
components.
▪ Fluid friction and undesired
heat loss to the
surroundings are the two
most common sources of
irreversibilities. 15
 Deviation of Actual Vapor Power Cycles from
Idealized Ones
▪ Fluid friction causes pressure drops in the boiler, the condenser, and the piping
between various components.
▪ As a result, steam leaves the boiler at a somewhat lower pressure.
▪ the pressure at the turbine inlet is somewhat lower than that at the boiler exit due to
the pressure drop in the connecting pipes.
▪ The pressure drop in the condenser is usually very small. To compensate for these
pressure drops, the water must be pumped to a sufficiently higher pressure than the
ideal cycle calls for. This requires a larger pump and larger work input to the pump.
▪ The other major source of irreversibility is the heat loss from the steam to the
surroundings as the steam flows through various components.
▪ To maintain the same level of net work output, more heat needs to be transferred to
the steam in the boiler to compensate for these undesired heat losses.
▪ As a result, cycle efficiency decreases. 16
 Deviation of Actual Vapor Power Cycles from
Idealized Ones
▪ Of particular importance are the irreversibilities occurring within the pump and the
turbine.
▪ A pump requires a greater work input, and a turbine produces a smaller work output as
a result of irreversibilities.
▪ Under ideal conditions, the flow through these devices is isentropic.
▪ The deviation of actual pumps and turbines from the isentropic ones can be accurately
accounted for, however, by utilizing adiabatic efficiencies, defined as

ws h2 s − h1
P = =
wa h2 a − h1
wa h3 − h4 a
T = =
ws h3 − h4 s
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 How can we increase the efficiency of the
Rankine Cycle?
•The basic idea behind all the modifications to increase the thermal
efficiency of a power cycle is the same:
➢Increase the average temperature at which heat is transferred to
the working fluid in the boiler, or
➢decrease the average temperature at which heat is rejected from
the working fluid in the condenser.

▪ Lowering the condenser pressure

▪ Superheating the steam to high temperatures
▪ Increasing the boiler pressure 18
Lowering the Condenser Pressure (Lowers Tlow,av)

▪ The colored area on this diagram represents

the increase in net work output as a result of
lowering the condenser pressure from P4 to
P’4.
▪ The heat input requirements also increase ,
but this increase is very small.
▪ The overall effect of lowering the condenser
pressure is an increase in the thermal
efficiency of the cycle.

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 Lowering the Condenser Pressure (Lowers Tlow,av)

Good News Bad News

• Increase in the new work • Increase in QH (but this is small
• Increase in the efficiency compared to the increase in
the net work)
• Limited by the saturation
pressure corresponding to the
cooling medium (ex. river, sea,
lake)
• More moisture within the
turbine

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 Superheating the Steam to High Temperatures (Increases Thigh,av)

▪ The colored area on this diagram represents the

increase in the net work.
▪ The total area under the process curve 3-3’
represents the increase in the heat input.
▪ Thus, both the net work and heat input increase
as a result of superheating the steam to a
higher temperature.
▪ The overall effect is an increase in thermal
efficiency.

▪ The temperature to which steam can be superheated is limited by metallurgical

considerations.
▪ Presently, the highest steam temperature allowed at the turbine inlet is about
620 oC(1150 oF). 21
 Superheating the Steam to High Temperatures (Increases Thigh,av)

Good News Bad News

• Increase in the net work • Significant increase in QH
• Increase in the efficiency • Metallurgical limitations (T3 <
• Decrease moisture 620oC) to protect turbine
blades

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Increasing the Boiler Pressure (Increase Thigh,av)

▪ Another way of increasing the average

temperature during the heat-addition
process is to increase the operating
pressure of the boiler, which
automatically raises the temperature
at which boiling takes place.
▪ This, in turn, raises the average
temperature at which heat is added to
the steam and thus raises the thermal
efficiency of the cycle.

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 Increasing the Boiler Pressure (Increase Thigh,av)

Good News Bad News

• Increase temperature at • Increase moisture
which boiling takes place
(reduce QH)
• Increase in the efficiency

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 The Ideal Reheat Rankine Cycle
▪ Increasing the boiler pressure increases the thermal
efficiency of the Rankine cycle, but it also increases
the moisture content of the steam to unacceptable
levels.
▪ Then, it is natural to ask the following question:

How can we take advantage of the increased efficiencies at

higher boiler pressures without facing the problem of
excessive moisture at the final stages of the turbine?
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 Two possibilities to mind:
▪ Superheat the steam to very high temperatures before it enters the
turbine.
▪ This would be the desirable solution since the average temperature at
which heat is added would also increases, thus increasing the cycle
efficiency.
▪ This is not a viable solution, however, since it will require raising the
steam temperature to metallurgic ally unsafe levels.
▪ Expand the steam in the turbine in two stages, and reheat it in between.
▪ In other words, modify the simple ideal Rankine cycle with a reheat
process.
▪ Reheating is a practical solution to the excessive moisture problem in
turbines, and it is used frequently in modern steam power plants.
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The T-s diagram of the ideal reheat Rankine cycle and the schematic of
the power plant operating on this cycle are shown below:

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▪ The ideal reheat Rankine cycle differs from the simple ideal Rankine cycle
in that the expansion process takes place in two stages.
▪ In the first stage (the high-pressure turbine), steam is expanded
isentropically to an intermediate pressure and sent back to the boiler
where it is reheated at constant pressure, usually to the inlet temperature
of the first turbine stage.
▪ Steam then expands isentropically in the second stage (low-pressure
turbine) to the condenser pressure.

▪ The total heat input and the total turbine work

output for a reheat cycle become
qin = q primary + qreheat = (h3 − h2 ) + (h5 − h4 )
wturb,out = wturb, I + wturb, II = (h3 − h4 ) + (h5 − h6 )
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 Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages Disadvantages
• Increases thermal efficiency • Increase plant cost due to re-
• Increases dryness fraction of the heater requirement and it’s
steam at turbine exhaust, this long piping system
will reduce blade erosion
• Increases condenser capacity
• Increase work done per unit
due to the increase in steam
mass of steam, thus reducing
boiler size dryness fraction

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 The Ideal Regenerative Rankine Cycle

▪ A careful examination of the T-s diagram

of the Rankine cycle shown reveals that
heat is added to the working fluid during
process 2-2’ at a relatively low
temperature.
▪ This lowers the average temperature at
which heat is added and thus the cycle
efficiency.
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▪ To remedy this shortcoming, we look for ways to raise the temperature of
the liquid leaving the pump (called the feedwater) before it enters the
boiler.
▪ One such possibility is to compress the feed water isentropically to a high
temperature, as in the Carnot cycle.
▪ This, however, would involve extremely high pressures and is therefore
impractical.
▪ Another possibility is to transfer heat to the feedwater from the expanding
steam in a counter flow heat exchanger built into the turbine, that is, to
use regeneration.
▪ This solution is also impractical because it is difficult to design such a heat
exchanger and because it would increase the moisture content of the
steam at the final stages of the turbine. 31
 Regeneration
▪ A practical regeneration process in steam power plants is accomplished by
extracting, or “bleeding,” steam from the turbine at various points.
▪ This steam, which could have produced more work by expanding further in
the turbine, is used to heat the feedwater instead.
▪ The device where the feedwater is heated by regeneration is called a
regenerator, or a feedwater heater.
▪ A feedwater heater is basically a heat exchanger where heat is transferred
from the steam to the feedwater either by mixing the two fluid streams
(open feedwater heaters) or without mixing them (closed feedwater
heaters).

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 Types of Feedwater Heaters:
Open Feedwater Heaters
▪ An open (or direct-contact)
feedwater heater is basically a
mixing chamber, where the steam
extracted from the turbine mixes
with the feedwater exiting the
pump.
▪ Ideally, the mixture leaves the
heater as a saturated liquid at the
heater pressure.
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Open Feedwater Heaters

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▪ In the analysis of steam power plants, it is more convenient to work with
quantities expressed per unit mass of the steam flowing through the boiler.
▪ For each 1 kg of steam leaving the boiler, y kg expands partially in the turbine
and is extracted at state 6.
▪ The remaining (1-y) kg expands completely to the condenser pressure.
▪ Therefore, the mass flow rate through the boiler is m, for example, it will be
(1-y)m through the condenser.
▪ The heat and work interactions of a regenerative Rankine cycle with one
feedwater heater can be expressed per unit mass of steam flowing through
the boiler as follows:
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qin = h5 − h4
qout = (1 − y )(h7 − h1 )
wturb ,out = (h5 − h6 ) + (1 − y )(h6 − h7 )
wPump ,in = (1 − y ) wPumpI ,in + wPumpII ,in
where
 

y = m6 m5 (fraction of steam extracted)

wPumpI ,in = v1 ( P2 − P1 )
wPumpII ,in = v3 ( P4 − P3 )
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 Types of Feedwater Heaters:
Closed Feedwater Heaters

▪ Closed feedwater heater- heat is transferred from the extracted steam to

the feedwater without any mixing taking place.
▪ The two streams can be at different pressures, since they do not mix.
▪ In an ideal closed feedwater heater, the feedwater is heated to the exit
temperature of the extracted steam, which ideally leaves the heater as a
saturated liquid at the extraction pressure.
▪ In actual power plants, the feedwater leaves the heater below the exit
temperature of the extracted steam because a temperature difference of
at least a few degrees is required for any effective heat transfer to take
place.
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Closed Feedwater Heaters

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Most steam power plants
use a combination of open
and closed feedwater
Heaters

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